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UK pub groups are warning about rising costs as a heat wave adds to their problems.

(Reuters) -On Thursday, British pub owners Mitchells & Butlers and Fuller, Smith & Turner warned about rising costs as the industry tries to protect profits and bring in customers.

Early on, Mitchells stock was down 1.2%, while Fuller, Smith & Turner stock was down about 2%.

J.D. Wetherspoon, a competitor, had already said that it would lose money this year because labour, maintenance, and marketing costs were going up.

Prices for everything, from gas to food ingredients, are going up, so people are cutting back. Also, recent record high temperatures in the UK have kept people from going out.

At the end of the third quarter, Mitchells & Butlers’ sales growth slowed down. This was because of the hot weather and the recent rail strikes, which hurt business.

Compared to the same time in 2019 before the flu outbreak, like-for-like sales went up by 0.9%. This is less than the 2.2% growth seen in the first five weeks of the quarter.

Phil Urban, CEO of Birmingham-based Mitchells, which has about 1,700 restaurants and pubs in the United Kingdom, said, “The trading environment remains very challenging, with inflationary costs putting pressure on consumer discretionary spending and the industry’s margins.”

Mitchells, which owns the brands All Bar One, Sizzling Pubs, Toby Carvery, and Vintage Inns, said that costs for utilities, wages, and food would stay at or above current levels for a long time into the next financial year.

In the first 16 weeks of the financial year, Fuller, Smith & Turner said that their sales were 3% higher than they were before the pandemic.

In a trading statement, the company said, “The industry-wide inflationary cost pressures around food supply, labour, and especially energy show no sign of going away.”

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